Overview of the Last Season
Black and Yellow last season was nothing less than a rollercoaster ride. A promising start was followed by setbacks in the middle of the season followed by a happy ending. Black and Yellows recruited many promising young talents into the main team including the likes of Youssoufa Moukoko and Jude Bellingham.
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Despite missing out on the Bundesliga and Supercup title again, the team did manage to win the DFB-Pokal Cup. They were not even in the place to get a Champions League slot, about 1 month before the season ended. They were sitting 5th at the table at that time. Getting eliminated narrowly by ManCity in the UCL Quarter-Final also came as a setback, but it only made them strong. The team went on to finish 3rd in the league below Bayern and just one point behind Leipzig.
What have Borussia Dortmund done this window
The team has a new boss at the helm as their interim head coach Edin Terzic switches back to life as the assistant coach. Marco Rose, the former Gladbach manager is the new BVB coach and expectations are already high after this promising manager change.
The team had some clear priorities in this transfer window and the 2nd one after the coach was to sign a good goalkeeper. They found one in the form of Gregor Kobel who was playing for VfB Stuttgart. They landed him for a sum of € 15 million. Dortmund also signed budding Dutch international Donyell Malen from PSV for around € 34 million. He isn’t the perfect replacement for Jadon Sancho but he can definitely create havoc for the opposition defense with his blistering pace. Their last signing was Croatian defender Marin Pongracic from VfL Wolfsburg. He was signed a few days before the deadline day. Dortmund needed a proper right-back as Thomas Meunier’s recent performance has been forgettable and youngster Mateu Morey is still injured. Pongracic, however, can play as both Center-back and right-back so that comes as a relief for the Black and Yellows.
The team, however, has lost some core players. Jadon Sancho is the biggest of those names, who left for Manchester United after the last season ended. He was one of the key players on the team. Other than him, Danish midfielder Thomas Delaney who has joined Sevilla will be missed. Young center-back Leonardo Balerdi has joined Marseille permanently after a loan spell. Last but not the least, BVB legend Lukasz Piszczek has left the club after 11 years as the curtain fell on his beautiful BVB career with a cup win.
What did Dortmund miss this window?
The Black and Yellows will still be having some important voids to fill. The defense still seems weak, though it’s certain that it’ll strengthen with the arrival of Pongracic and the injured players coming back to the team. The right-back position still remains a questionable point for the team. They were interested in signing Portuguese defender Diogo Dalot from Man United but couldn’t make the deal happen.
Their biggest miss, as stated above, will be Jadon Sancho. The new signing Donyell Malen is a different type of player and usually plays as a center-forward. This increases the load on the shoulders of captain Marco Reus, Julian Brandt, Gio Reyna, and other attacking midfielders for playing the role of provider.
Expectations from this season
With a new gaffer and some other major changes in the team, it could go either way for the team in Black and Yellow. Despite this, they’ll be still expected to win at least one major trophy. Which they have done in each of the last two seasons. They are desperate to end the Bayern dominance in the league and winning the Bundesliga is the only way to do it. The destination seems far as of now considering their shaky start to the season. But, if there’s one word that describes this team perfectly, it’s got to be ‘potential’. This batch of players has the potential to win any tournament and both the board and the fans would be expecting at least one more piece of silverware in the team’s trophy cabinet.
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